Addiction,
The
(1995*)/Case
Of The Scorpion's Tail
(1971*)/Doom
Asylum
(1987*)/The
Great Game
(2015/Icarus DVD)/Sleeping
Dogs
(1977/*all MVD/Arrow Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+/B+/B/C+/B Sound: B+/B/B/C/B Extras: B/B/B/D/B Films:
B/C+/C/C+/C+
Here's
a sometimes twisted group of thrillers, some with mystery about
them...
A
dark and semi-realistic take on the Vampire genre, Abel Ferrara's The
Addiction
(1995) gets a new life on Blu-ray disc thanks to Arrow with a
excellent presentation. The black and white film, which features
Lili Taylor (The
Conjuring,
Mystic
Pizza)
and Christopher Walken himself, is pretty heavy, slow moving, and
philosophical and doesn't shy away from going dark places.
The
film also stars Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Paul Calderon and
Fredro Starr.
Kathleen
(Taylor) is a philosophy student living a normal life... until one
night when she is attacked in an alley and bitten on the neck by
Casanova (Sciorra). After that night, she starts to slowly become a
vampire and slowly leaves her human life behind. This get even
wilder from here.
The
film is presented in 1080p with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1
and a great sounding restored DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless
track, this is a very nice black and white presentation of this edgy
film. As with many releases from Arrow video, the sound and picture
are top notch as this is a new restoration in 4K from the original
camera negative and approved the film's Director of Photography, Ken
Keisch. This is likely the best that this film has ever looked as to
my knowledge it hasn't been released in HD until this point.
Defiantly worth checking out.
Special
Features include...
Feature-length
audio commentary by Abel Ferrara, moderated by critic and biographer
Brad Stevens
Talking
with the Vampires
(2018), a new documentary about the film made by Ferrara especially
for this release, featuring actors Christopher Walken and Lili
Taylor, composer Joe Delia, Ken Kelsch, and Ferrara himself
New
interview with Abel Ferrara
New
interview with Brad Stevens
Abel
Ferrara Edits The Addiction,
an archival piece from the time of production
Original
trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter
Strain
and
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet containing new
writing on the film by critic Michael Ewins.
The
film is now also available in a 4K edition and you can read more
about it at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16540/Addiction+4K+(1995/4K+Ultra+HD+Blu-ray)/Invas
Italian
Director Sergio Martino's gorgeously shot Giallo The
Case of the Scorpion's Tail
(1971) lands on Blu-ray with a deluxe presentation thanks to Arrow
films. This is one of the nicest restorations I've seen of an older
foreign film on Blu-ray disc as of late with impeccable detail,
especially on some of the wide shots.
The
film stars George Hilton, Anita Strindberg, and Evelyn Stewart to
name a few.
The
Giallo film takes advantage of its exotic locations and centers
around Lisa Baumer (Stewart) who learns that her husband has been
killed in a plane accident. She travels to Greece to collect his
life insurance policy... but becomes a target for murder instead. A
detective named Peter Lynch (Hilton) is soon hired and attempts to
protect her from the unknown killer.
The
film has been remastered and restored in 2K from the original camera
negative and presented here in 1080p high definition. The film
sports a 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio and the original lossless
Mono Italian and English soundtracks. Also on the disc are newly
translated English subtitles.
Special
Features include...
Audio
commentary with writer Ernesto Gastaldi, moderated by filmmaker
Federico Caddeo (in Italian with English subtitles)
New
interview with star George Hilton
New
interview with director Sergio Martino
New
analysis Sergio Martino's films by Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce
Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film
New
video essay by Troy Howarth, author of So Deadly, So Perverse: 50
Years of Italian Giallo Films
Theatrical
trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris
Malbon
FIRST
PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing
on the film by Rachael Nisbet and Howard Hughes, and a biography of
star Anita Strindberg by Peter Jilmstad
Doom
Asylum
(1987) is
a schlocky horror comedy is for the folks who love low brow '80s
laughs that stars Frankenhooker
herself, Patty Mullen, as well as a young Kristin Davis (Sex
and the City),
but that doesn't
help just how terribly bad this movie is on every possible level
(including scene continuity). Arrow as per usual delivers a great
presentation of the disc with some new extras, restoring this VHS
oddity to HD for collectors and cult fanatics.
Doom
Asylum
also stars Ruth Collins, Harrison White, and Michael Rogen.
Presented
in 1080p high definition Blu-ray with a two different widescreen
aspect ratio choices (1.85:1 and 1.33:1), the film is presented with
its original uncompressed PCM Mono audio mix. This new presentation
from Arrow is a 2K restoration from the original camera negative, so
no doubt this is the best the film has ever looked. Though shot on a
shoestring, the film holds up and looks good all things considered.
Special
Features include...
Brand
new feature-length audio commentary with screenwriter Rick Marx
Brand
new feature-length audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues
Tina's
Terror
- a brand new interview with actress Ruth Collins
Movie
Madhouse
- a brand new interview with director of photography
Larry
Revene Morgues & Mayhem
- a brand new interview with special make-up effects creator Vincent
J. Guastini
Archival
Interviews with producer Alexander W. Kogan, Jr., director Richard
Friedman and production manager Bill Tasgal
Still
Gallery
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Justin
Osbourne
and
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully-illustrated collector's booklet featuring
new writing by Amanda Reyes.
Though
you might find politics in some other releases in this batch of
films, Nicolas Pariser's The
Great Game
(2015) is more explicitly about them as an older veteran politician
(Andre Dussollier) asks a young writer (Melvil Poupaud) to secretly
ghost write for him about politics, et al, but the one-time
best-selling younger author is being fed information that is intended
to bring down certain French political figures. Before he knows it,
some people want to kill him!
You
can immediately ask if you've heard this plot before or if the
younger guys is dumb enough to do this without thinking, is he
none-too-bright and should know better than to get himself into such
trouble? The DVD case even evokes Michael
Clayton
(the underrated George Clooney/Tilda Swinton film), House
Of Cards
(only the U.K. version is watchable now) and Polanski's underseen
Ghost
Writer
with Ewan McGregor. This could have been as good as they were, but
the script meanders like this is an original idea and 100 minutes
later, nothing much here is memorable or really works despite the
efforts of a decent cast and some nice locale shots.
Maybe
this is one kind of such thriller too many, even if being French, you
might expect a different perspective, but it seems too much like all
we've already seen and at least never insulted my intelligence. Too
bad they couldn't find new ground, but the still-curious should still
give it a look.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is not bad with some style for
an HD shoot, but Video Black suffers a bit, while the lossy Dolby
Digital 5.1 is a little weaker and quieter than expected, so be
careful of high playback levels and volume switching. There are no
extras.
We
conclude with a early film by a director now known for many big
Hollywood productions. An interesting (and frightening) war film set
against the backdrop of New Zealand, Sleeping
Dogs
(1977) features a young Sam Neil (Jurassic
Park)
as Smith whose drawn into a struggle between guerrillas and
right-wingers. Implicated in a murder and framed as a revolutionary
conspirator, Smith tries to maintain an attitude of non-violence
while being stuck in the middle and tries to stay alive.
The
film also stars Ian Mune, Warren Oates, Nevan Rowe, and Clyde Scott.
Sleeping
Dogs
is presented in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio
of 1.85:1 and an optional 2.0 (uncompressed LPCM) and DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix, the presentation here is up to
standards and looks and sounds fine for the format. The film hasn't
aged to much and has some strong production design that hasn't lost
its effectiveness over the years.
Special
Features include...
Commentary
by writer-director Roger Donaldson, actor Sam Neill and actor-writer
Ian Mune
The
Making of Sleeping Dogs
(2004), a 65-minute retrospective documentary on the film's
production featuring interviews with Donaldson, Neill, Mune, Geoff
Murphy
The
Making of Sleeping Dogs
(1977), a contemporary behind-the-scenes documentary featuring
interviews with Donaldson and Neill
Theatrical
trailer
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean
Phillips
FIRST
PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing
on the film by Neil Mitchell, a contemporary review by Pauline Kael
and the original press book.
An
interesting film that's a product of its time, Arrow has again done a
fine job restoring the film and packing it with extras.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Great)
and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
